Welting for boots and shoes



April 9,1929. LYON 1,708,627

WELTING F'OR BOOTS AND SHOES Filed Jan. 15, 1927 Patented Apr. 9, 1929;

NITE-D STATES 1,?t8,t27 PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY LYDN, or nonnnoon, ririsssonnsnrrs, ASSIGNOR re rEnLnY E. BAR-BOUR,

DOING BUSINESS AS BARBOUE wntrrne COMPANY, or BROGKTON, MASSACHU- snare.

WELTING ron Boers Ann snons.

Application filed January 15, 1927. Serial No. 161,437.

This invention relates to welting for boots and shoes and to its method of manufacture.

More particularly the invention relates to the production of leather welting but the process may advantageously be practised in the preparation of welting from other suitable materials.

Grain leather suitable for welting. to be sewed into high grade Goodyear welt shoes is expensive and when consideration is given to the fact that the orders from shoes manufacturers run from hundreds of thousands to millions of yards a saving of even a relatively small percentage of the Stock results in a very considerable saving inthe cost of manufacture. One object of the present invention is to effect a saving of stock by anovel method of cutting the fillets from which the finished Welt strips are produced. A further object of the invention is to provide for cutting and pressing a narrower strip than is now used commercially for Goodyear welting in such manner that the necessary over-all width is eventually obtained'without loss of any of the characteristics of Goodyear welting required by shoe manufacturers.

The novel features of the welting produced and the preferred process used in its manufacture will be explained in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is aview, in perspective, of a portion of a double fillet illustrating the novel cut for Severance into two Single fillets Fig. 2 is a view,'in perspective, of one of the strips obtained by severing the double fillet and illustrating the Preferred cut for producinga groove; and

Fig. 3 illustrates a portion of fimshedwel ing as prepared from the strip shown in Fig. 2. V

V For clarity of description, the novel welting and the method of its manufacture will be explained as applied to the production of welting from grain leather, but without limitation upon the actual scope of t 1e invention asdefined by the appended claims.

' In the manufacture of Goodyear welting it is customary to strip a fillet from the hide that is at least double the width of the finished weltin and to scarf the ends of these double fillets before any other cutting operation is performed. After scarfing, the double fillet is severed by a longitudinal cut normal to the two faces of the fillet and the two welt strips thus produced are grooved and beveled in a duced the longitudinal line of severance must be central of the width of the double fillet. In other words, for all widths of welting the stock that is started with must be the full over-all width of the two welt strips finally produced.

In accordance with the present invention the double fillet 10 of Fig. 1, for producing two half-inch welt strips, for example, is somewhat less than one inch in width the saving in stock in this instance being one-sixteenth of an inch or at least 6% which is a very material saving when the cost of grain leather suitable for high grade welting is considered. Under one aspect of the present invention it is possible to produce from this double fillet one half-inch strip which will finish into a welt strip having the characteristic features of the half-inch commercial Goodyear welting, and one seven-sinteenths inc-h strip which, by means of the process hereinafter described, may also be finished into a welt strip of one-half inch width and having the characteristic features of commercial Goodyear welting.

' With this end in view, thedescribed double fillet 10 is severed longitudinally by an angular incision 12'having a portion 14c normal to the flesh face F of the fillet and spaced onehalf of an inch from one edge 13 of the fillet which leaves a width of seven-sixteenths of an inch from the incision to the other edge 15 of the fillet. The remaining portion 16 of the fillet-severing cut is oblique with respect to the portion 1% extending from substantially the center of the thickness of the fillet toward the edge 13 and enierging'from the grain face G at least thirteen-thirtyseconds of an inch from said edge. The obliquity and proportions of the cut 16 are the same as the obliquity and proportions of the beveling cut now made on commercial welting designed to leave an ample width of grain face to avoid the fault of grinning inseams. It will be understood from the foregoing that the portion 14 of the fillet-severing cut lies near but not on the medial section of the fillet 10 indicated by the dot and dash lines on Fig.

1, and that the portion 16 crosses said medial section, At the same time that the double fillet is severed, or after the severance as may be preferred, a groove 18 is cut in' flesh face F at therequired distance from the edged?) for inseam sewing. Thus-completely finished Goodyear welting may be produced, in,

one operation if desired, from one longitus dinal side of the narrowed double fillet 10.

' It will be observed that the severed strip having the edge is one-sixteenth of an inch narrower on its flesh side than the Goodyear welt fillet, but has a proj-ectionor tongue 2'0, triangular in crosssection (sec ig. 2)-

' instead of a bevel, at the inner grain corner. 'Thls material which forms a shelf-like extension of the grainface, may be utilized to produce a welt strip of the full width and of Goodyear welt characteristics from the narrower strip in the following manner. The flesh side F is slit longitudinally as at 22, the

' blade of the knife being'so shaped that the cut extends inward from the flesh side and an oblique position as shown by Fig. 8. At the same time that the stock 524lis.pressed'ou t-,

ward the tongue 20 is'pressed inward toward thefiesh facet-o set it, oblique to the grain faceG and formia bevel 28 at the inner end of the strip; The pressure from the two directions brings the inner face of the tongue 20 and theobliquely-positioned edge 141- into contact (see Fig. 8) which position is retained when the stock dries. Cement may be applied at these meeting edges if found desir- ,able. Inthisway the width of the flesh face c of the strip is increased by at least theone sixteenth of an inch that was saved by narrowing the double fillct 10.

'As a result of the operations described two grooved and beveled welt strips of the full over-all width are produced from the nar rowed double fillet 10. i The processh'as the added and important.advantage of producing these two strips without waste except for the small string removed from the groove 18 of the Goodyear welt. The stock of the corner bevel of the Goodyear welt strip, which under present manufacturing conditions is waste material, is preserved in its entirety and, in the process described, is used to pro duce the bevel on and aid in increasing the width of the other welt strip. Furthermore,

this process of manufacture, in addition to forming an-adequate bevel, provides a grain The slit 22 may surface on this other welt strip which extends onto the bevel and thus further aids in preventing grinning inseams if the welt sewing machine operator sews too full. The most important advantage, however, comes from the saving of stock. 1 7V 1 i a I The nature and scope of theinvention hav- .ing-bcen indicatedand the preferredmethod ofmanufacture having beenspecifically described, what is claimed as new, is:

1. The method of producing two welt strips from a double filletwhich comprises severing the double fillet longitudinally by a out havinga portion normal to one face of the double'fillet and another portion oblique to the other face thereo-fj 2. The method of producing two welt strips from a double fillet which comprises severing the double fillet longitudinally by a cut emerging from one face of the stock on a line that is wholly at one side of the medial line of'the double; fillet and emerging from the other face of the stock on a line that is wholly at the otherside of said medial line. i 8. Themethod of'producing' two welt strips from a double fillet which comprises severing the double fillet longitu'dinally'by acut emerging from one face in a plane parallel to tlieine'dial section of the double filletand emerging from the'other face in a plane oblique to said medial section, said cuts meeting at substantially the center of the'thickness of the stock. .7

4. The method of producing two welt ii lets from a double fillet of less width than the combined width of stock in single fillets required for the two finished welt strips to be formed therefrom which comprises sever ing the double fillet longitudinally by a out having aportion normal to one face of and extending partially through the thickness of the stock ands'paced from one edge of the double fillet a distance at least equal to'the desired over-all width of one of said finished welt strips, and having another portion extending obliquely from the inner end of said first portion'and toward said edge of the double fillet.

5. The method of producing two welt fil- V lets from a double fillet of less width than the combined width of stock in single fillets required forthe two finished welt strips to be formed therefrom which comprises severing the double, fillet longitudinally by a cut shaped and positioned to produce one strip of normal over-all width having a'bevel at one corner throughout its length and one strip of abnormal over-all width having a tongue, triangular in cross-sectiomvat' on corner throughout its length.v

6. The method of producing v two welt fillets from a double fillet of grain leather of less width than the combined width of stock in single fillets required for the two finished welt strips to be formed therefrom which com- Ill) prises severing the double fillet longitudinally by a cut that emerges from the flesh face in a plane normal thereto and at a distance from one edge at least equal to the desired over-all width of one of the finished welt strips, and emerges from the grain face in a plane oblique thereto and at a distance from said edge at least equal to the desired width of grain face on said one of the finished welt strips. 7

7 The method of producing two welt fillets t'rom a double fillet of grain leather of less width than the combined width of stock in single fillets required for the two finished Welt strips to be formed therefrom which comprises severing the double fillet longitudinally by a cut through its thickness located andshaped to produce one strip of normal over-all width having a beveled grain corner and another strip of abnormal over-all width having the stock beveled from said first fillet left projectingshelf-like from its inner grain corner.

8. The'method of producing two finished welt strips of normal width from a double fillet of grain leather of less width than the combined over-all width of said strips which comprises severing the double fillet longitudinally by a cut through its thickness located and shaped to produce one strip of normal width having a beveled grain corner and another strip of less than normal width on its flesh side having the stock beveled from said first strip left projecting shelf-like from its inner grain corner, and pressing said sheltlike projection inward toward the adjacent edge of said strip and toward its flesh face to form a beveled end.

"9. The method of producing two finished welt strips of normal width from a' double fillet of less width than the combined overall width of said strips which comprises severing the double fillet longitudinally by a cut shaped and positioned to produce one strip of normal Width and another strip of less than normal width on one face having a tongue projecting shelf-like from one edge and forming an extension of its other face, partly severing stock from the narrower face of said strip, and then pressing said partly severed stock outward and said tongue inward until they meet thus increasing the flesh side width of said narrower strip.

10. The method of producing two finished welt strips of normal width from a double fillet of grain leather of less width than the combined overall width of said strips which comprises severing the double fillet longitudinally by a cut shaped and positioned to produce one strip of normal width and another strip of less than normal width on its flesh side having a tongue throughout its length at the grain corner of one edge, said tongue being triangular in cross-section and having one side in the plane of the grain face of said strip, partly severing stock by a longitudinal cut in the flesh face of said strip, and then pressing said partly severed flesh stock outward and said tongue inward until they meet to increase the flesh side width of said narrower strip and to produce a grain face bevel.

11. The method of making welting from a strip of grain leather having a tongue projecting shelf-like from the grain corner of one edge throughout its length which coinprises slitting the flesh face near said edge by a longitudinal out which extends inward from said flesh'side and then turns toward said edge, and then pressing said partly sev' ered flesh stock outward and said tongue inward until they meet to increase the flesh side width of said strip and produce a grain face bevel.

HARRY LYON. 

